KR101476859B1 - System and method for driving a drawer in a refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a drawer driving system and a driving control method of a refrigerator.

According to the drawer driving system and the control method of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the storage box is drawn out and stopped for a certain distance, the storage box is automatically drawn or drawn in accordance with the user's intention or action, Is reduced.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a drawer driving system and a driving control method for a refrigerator,

The present invention relates to a drawer driving system and a driving control method of a refrigerator.

Generally, a refrigerator is a household appliance that stores food in a refrigerated or frozen state.

In detail, the refrigerator is divided into a top mount type, a bottom freezer type, and a side by side type depending on the positions of the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment.

Wherein the door for opening and closing the freezing compartment is rotatably provided at one side edge of the refrigerator body and the door for opening and closing the freezing compartment is provided with a storage box type .

Meanwhile, since the freezer compartment is provided on the lower side of the refrigerator, in order to open the freezer compartment, the user has to pull the door forward with the waist bent. Therefore, since the user has to apply a greater force than when the user pulls the door in the straight posture, the refrigerator door is inconvenient compared to opening the refrigerator compartment door.

In order to solve this inconvenience, a structure for facilitating the opening of the freezing compartment door has appeared.

As an example, an automatic opening structure has been proposed in which the user senses the pulling and pulling action of the door handle to open the freezing chamber door so that the freezing chamber door is separated from the front of the main body by a predetermined distance.

As another method, a structure has been proposed in which a motor is fixedly mounted on the floor of the freezer compartment and the freezer compartment door is drawn out by the driving force of the motor. More specifically, a motor is fixedly mounted on the floor of the freezer compartment, and a rotating member such as a gear is connected to the rotating shaft of the motor. The bottom of the freezer compartment drawer is brought into contact with the rotary member, and the freezer compartment drawer is moved forward and backward in accordance with the rotation of the rotary member.

However, the conventional storage box type refrigerator has the following disadvantages.

First, in the case of a conventional refrigerator without a storage box automatic drawing-out structure, a user must grasp a handle protruding from the front of the storage box and pull it with a force. However, a sealing member such as a gasket is mounted on the back surface of the refrigerator storage box to prevent outflow of cold air, and a sealing member such as a magnet is provided inside the sealing member. Therefore, when the storage box is closed, the refrigerator body is maintained in a state of being closely attached to the refrigerator body by the magnetic force. In this state, in order for the user to pull out the storage box, a force larger than the magnetic force is applied to pull the storage box. In addition, when the storage box is provided on the lower side of the refrigerator, the waist should be pulled out in a bent state, so that the body may be overloaded. In other words, there may be a problem that a child, an elderly person, and a woman are somewhat hard to open a refrigerator storage box.

Further, since the handle for pulling the storage box protrudes from the front surface of the storage box, the volume of the packaging material of the refrigerator becomes large. In addition, when the refrigerator is installed in a room, there is a disadvantage that the space utilization is low because the space required for the protrusion of the handle is required.

Furthermore, since the handle is protruded from the front surface of the refrigerator, there is a risk that the user may bump in the process of moving or hit the child in the course of running.

Meanwhile, as described above, also in the case of a refrigerator provided with a storage box separating device which pushes the storage box by a distance enough to separate the storage box from the refrigerator body, there is also the following disadvantage.

First, even in the case of a refrigerator equipped with a device for separating the storage box from the main body, a handle is necessarily required. That is, when the user tries to pull the storage box by holding the handle, the storage box is automatically detached from the main body by sensing the handle, so that the handle is an essential component, exist.

This is because the time taken to drive the storage box separating apparatus by sensing the control by the control unit is shorter than the time taken for the user to grasp and pull the handle, resulting in an inefficiency. That is, the reaction speed of the storage box separating device in accordance with the storage box withdrawing operation is slow, so that the user does not substantially recognize the convenience.

Third, since the storage box separating device pushes the storage box only to the extent that the storage box is separated from the refrigerator body, there is a disadvantage that the user must pull the handle directly after that. In this case, when the weight of the food stored in the storage box is large, withdrawal of the storage box is not easy.

Also, in the case of a refrigerator having a structure in which a motor is fixedly mounted on a bottom surface of a refrigerator main body to draw out a storage box, the following problem also arises.

First, in order to apply the above structure to the refrigerator, the driving motor and the gear assembly must be mounted on the floor of the refrigerator compartment or the freezer compartment.

Secondly, even if the driving motor and the gear assembly are mounted downward from the inner case of the refrigerator, there is a problem that the heat insulation loss of the refrigerator body may be caused. In other words, the refrigerator main body is composed of an outer case, an inner case, and a heat insulating layer provided therebetween. Under such a structure, when the inner case is recessed for mounting the motor, there is a problem that the heat insulating layer is thinned so that the heat insulating effect between the inside of the refrigerator and the inside of the refrigerator is deteriorated.

Third, when the motor and the gear assembly are fixedly mounted on the floor of the refrigerator, the rack engaged with the gear should be installed on the bottom surface of the storage box in the longitudinal direction. At this time, the maximum length of the rack may be up to the full length of the bottom surface of the storage box. A machine room in which a compressor and a condenser are accommodated is provided at a lower rear end of the refrigerator. Therefore, the rear surface of the freezer compartment of the bottom freezer-type refrigerator is inclined forward. That is, the length of the lower end electrical length is shorter than the length of the upper end electrical length of the freezer compartment box.

If the storage box draw-out structure is provided in the freezer compartment storage box of the bottom freezer-type refrigerator, the rack should be provided on the bottom surface of the freezer compartment storage box. In this case, even when the freezing chamber storage box is drawn out to the maximum, the upper rear end portion of the freezing chamber storage box can not be completely drawn out from the freezing chamber.

Fourthly, in the case where a plurality of storage boxes of the refrigerator are provided in the vertical direction, a separate motor and gear assembly for pulling out the upper storage box must be provided. To this end, a separate barrier should be provided in the upper storage box and the lower storage box .

Fifth, in the case of a conventional refrigerator having a structure in which a motor is fixedly mounted on a bottom surface of a refrigerator main body to draw out a storage box, a function of sensing and controlling the drawing speed of the storage box during the drawing- It does not. In other words, in the case of a conventional refrigerator, a lead switch is attached to the front and rear ends of the rack provided on the bottom surface of the refrigerator, and only detects whether or not the storage box is completely drawn to the end and whether or not it is completely closed. Accordingly, there is a disadvantage in that it can not be detected whether or not the storage box is drawn out at a normal speed, whether or not the draw-out operation of the storage box is obstructed by the obstacle, and whether it is drawn at a set speed regardless of the weight of the food stored in the storage box .

Technical Challenge

Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem [8] The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the above-mentioned disadvantages and problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator in which a handle structure for withdrawing a storage box in a storage box type refrigerator is not required.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator which can improve the storage box draw-in / out structure of a refrigerator and automatically draw out a storage box according to a user's intention.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator which can reduce the internal volume of the refrigerator and reduce the adiabatic effect by improving the conventional structure in which the driving unit for inserting and extracting the storage box of the refrigerator is fixedly mounted on the refrigerator body.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a drawer drive system and a control method of a refrigerator in which a drawer or a drawer is always drawn at a set speed irrespective of the weight of food stored in a storage box.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a drawer drive system and a control method of a refrigerator which can automatically draw or draw in a drawer according to a user's intention while a storage box is drawn out and stopped at a predetermined distance.

Technical Solution

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drawer driving system for a refrigerator including: a drawer; A drive motor rotating so that the drawer is drawn by a set distance; Wherein the control unit controls the operation of the driving motor such that the drawer moves in the direction of the external force applied to the drawer in a state where the drawer is stopped .

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a drawer drive of a refrigerator, comprising: sensing an external force acting on a drawer in a stopped state; Transmitting a detection signal of the external force to a control unit; Determining a direction of action of the external force in the controller; And moving the drawer in the acting direction of the external force.

Advantageous effect

The drawer driving system and the control method of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention have the following advantages and effects.

First, since the storage box is automatically drawn or drawn only by the user pressing the storage box input button, the convenience for use for a child or the elderly is increased. Further, since the storage box can be automatically drawn out, there is an advantage that the storage box can be drawn out conveniently regardless of the weight of the food stored in the storage box.

Second, there is an advantage that a separate handle is not required to draw out the storage box of the refrigerator. In detail, there is no need for a handle for taking out the storage box, so that the appearance of the refrigerator can be cleaned neatly. In addition, since the handle does not protrude from the refrigerator body, the space utilization of the refrigerator installation place is increased and the risk of a safety accident is reduced.

Third, since the driving motor for automatic withdrawal of the storage box is not fixedly mounted on the main body of the refrigerator but is provided so as to be movable together with the storage box, there is an advantage that the disadvantage that the capacity is reduced is eliminated.

Fourth, since the driving motor for automatic withdrawal of the storage box is not fixedly mounted on the refrigerator body but is provided movably together with the storage box, there is an advantage that the disadvantage that the heat insulating effect is reduced due to the reduction of the thickness of the heat insulating layer of the refrigerator body is eliminated .

Fifth, there is an advantage that the reliability of the drawer drive system is ensured because the drawer is pulled in and drawn in at a predetermined speed regardless of the weight of the food stored in the storage box.

Sixth, there is an advantage that the storage box is automatically drawn or drawn in accordance with the intention or action of the user in a state where the storage box is drawn out and stopped at a certain distance, thereby reducing cold loss.

For example, when there is a drawer draw-out command, the storage box is drawn out only by a predetermined distance. If the article can be stored or taken out in this state, the drawer is not required to be completely opened, and therefore unnecessary loss of cool air can be reduced. That is, when the drawer needs to be drawn out only, the drawer is completely opened according to the user's selection, thereby minimizing unnecessary cold loss due to the drawer opening.

1 is a perspective view showing a refrigerator having a drawer draw-out mouth structure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a draw-out state of a storage box assembly of a refrigerator provided with the drawer draw-out mouth structure. FIG.

3 is a perspective view showing a drawer drawer according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is an exploded perspective view of the drawer drawer.

5 is a partial perspective view showing the structure of the other end of the suspension unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a block diagram showing a drawer driving system of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a waveform diagram showing the form of a pulse signal detected by the Hall sensor in accordance with the forward and backward rotation of the drive motor;

FIG. 8 is a graph showing a moving speed of a drawer in a drawer withdrawing process of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing a method of controlling a drawer drive of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a flowchart showing a control method for automatically drawing or pulling a drawer according to a user's intention.

10 is a flow chart showing a method of controlling a drawer drive of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a control method for causing a drawer to move according to a user's intention using an FG pulse signal generated by a motor control unit.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing a drawer drive control method of a refrigerator according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a control method of moving a drawer according to a user's intention using a distance detection sensor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the scope of the present invention to the embodiment shown, and that other embodiments falling within the scope of the present invention may be easily devised by adding, Can be proposed.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a refrigerator having a drawer draw-out mouth structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a drawer draw-out state of a refrigerator having the drawer draw-out mouth structure.

1 and 2, a refrigerator 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a main body 11 provided with a refrigerating chamber (not shown) and a freezing chamber 111 therein, A refrigerator compartment door 12 rotatably mounted on the refrigerator compartment to open and close the refrigerator compartment and a drawer 13 provided below the refrigerator compartment to be drawn in and out of the freezer compartment 111.

The drawer 13 includes a door 131 that forms a front surface and opens and closes the freezing chamber 111 and a storage box 132 that is provided on the rear surface of the door 131 and accommodates food .

The refrigerator 10 further includes a frame 15 extending rearward from a rear surface of the freezing chamber door 131 and supporting the storage box 132, And a rail assembly 16 for allowing the rail assembly 16 to be drawn in and out. One end of the rail assembly 16 is fixed to the inner circumferential surface of the freezing chamber 111 and the other end of the rail assembly 16 is fixed to the frame 15 and the length thereof is adjustable.

The freezing chamber 111 is provided on both sides of the freezer compartment 111 so that the rail assembly 16 can be opened and closed, And further includes a draw-out device for allowing the accommodated rail guide 17 and the storage box 132 to be drawn out automatically. The suspension device includes a suspension unit 18 coupled to a rear end of the frame 15 to prevent the storage box 132 from being swayed in the left and right directions during the loading and unloading of the storage box 132, And a guide member for moving the suspension unit 18. More specifically, the rail guide 17 is formed with a rail seating groove 171 for receiving the rail assembly 16. A guide rack 172 corresponding to the guide member is formed at a lower end of the rail seating groove 171 in a longitudinal direction.

The suspension unit 18 includes a shaft 181 having both ends connected to the pair of frames 15 and a pinion 182 provided at both ends of the shaft 181. A plurality of gears are formed on an outer circumferential surface of the pinion 182, and a gear is formed on an upper surface of the guide rack 172 to rotate the pinion 182 in engagement with the pinion 182. Accordingly, when the pinion 182 is rotated in the state of being engaged with the guide rack 172, the drawer 32 is pulled straight without being biased to the left or right. In addition, a phenomenon of shaking in the left and right direction does not occur in the process of drawing the drawer (13).

In the refrigerator 10, a drawer drawing device for automatically drawing the drawer 13 is provided.

More specifically, the drawer drawing device includes a driving force generating portion provided on any one or both of the pair of pinions 182 to supply rotational force to the pinion 182, and a driving force generating portion that transmits a driving force generated from the driving force generating portion So that the storage box 132 is pulled out. Here, the driving force generating unit may be a driving motor 20 that provides a rotational force to the pinion 182. The outflow force transmitting portion may be a rocking prevention device including the suspension portion 18 and the guide rack 172. That is, the rocking prevention device also functions as a driving force transmitting portion for automatic withdrawal of the drawer 13, in addition to the function of preventing the drawer 13 from swinging to the left and right. Then, the driving force generating portion moves with the freezing chamber door 131 in one body. Here, it is to be noted that the driving force generating unit is not limited to the driving motor 20 but includes all the driving means for enabling automatic withdrawal of the drawer 13, such as an actuator using a solenoid of the storage box.

A distance sensor 24 may be mounted on the outer circumferential surface of the driving motor 20 to sense the draw-in / draw-in distance of the drawer 13. In detail, the distance sensor 24 may be a sensor using infrared rays or ultrasonic waves, or may include a distance sensor using any other method. The distance sensor 24 is mounted to sense a difference in distance from the rear wall of the freezer compartment in which the drawer 13 is accommodated.

For example, the distance sensor 24 is provided with a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion, and a signal emitted from the light emitting portion is struck against a rear wall surface of the freezing chamber, that is, a rear wall surface of the inner case, . The main control unit determines the distance between the drawer 13 and the wall surface of the inner case using the voltage value of the infrared signal sensed by the light receiving unit. The ultrasonic sensor may also be distance-sensed in the same manner. Since the distance sensor using infrared rays or ultrasonic waves is a well-known technique, a detailed description of the distance sensing method will be omitted. The present invention is characterized in that it is possible to determine the draw-in / drag-out distance of the drawer by using the distance sensor described above.

The rail assembly 16 includes a fixed rail 161 fixed to the rail seating groove 171, a movable rail 162 fixed to the frame 15, And an extension rail 163 for connecting the extension rail 162.

In detail, the fixed rail 161, the movable rail 162 and the extension rail 163 are connected so as to be capable of multi-stage drawing. The rail assembly 16 may be provided with one or more extension rails 163 depending on the length of the storage box 132 in the anteroposterior direction. Alternatively, the rail assembly 16 may be composed of only the fixed rail 161 and the movable rail 162. The shaft 181 constituting the suspension unit 18 and the drive motor 20 may be fixed to the rear end of the frame 15 according to a design method and may be fixed to the rear end of the movable rail 162 It may be fixed.

The storage box 132 is detachably coupled to the frame 15 so that the user can periodically clean the storage box 132. [

Meanwhile, a dispenser 19 capable of taking out water or ice may be provided on the front surface of the refrigerator compartment door 12.

In detail, a part of the front surface of the dispenser 19 has a container receiving portion 193 recessed to a predetermined depth. An ice chute 194 through which ice is taken out and an outlet (not shown) through which water is taken out are provided in the ceiling portion of the container accommodating portion 193. A take-out lever 195 for taking out ice is provided on the rear side of the ice chute 194. A reservoir receiver 196 is provided on the bottom surface of the container accommodating portion 193. The display 191 displays various information such as the operation state of the refrigerator or the temperature of the refrigerator at the one edge of the dispenser 19 and an input button 192a for inputting the input / May be provided.

More specifically, the input button 192a for the input / output command input of the storage box may be provided in various ways such as a capacitive switch using a capacitance change and a commonly used tact switch or a toggle switch.

In addition, the input button 192a may be provided on one side of the dispenser 19, or alternatively, may be provided on the front or side of the freezing chamber door 131 as a touch button.

Alternatively, the input button 192a may be a vibration sensing switch provided at one side of the front surface of the freezing chamber door 131 and operated by sensing the vibration transmitted to the freezing chamber door 131. That is, when the user applies a weak shock to the freezer compartment door 131 by using his or her feet in a state where both hands can not be used, the driving motor 20 may be operated by sensing the vibration transmitted from the shock will be.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a drawer drawer according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the drawer drawer.

3 and 4, the driving force generating unit constituting the drawer draw-out apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention may be the driving motor 20, and the driving motor 20 may be integrated with the suspension unit 18 As shown in Fig.

The suspension unit 18 includes the suspension unit 18 and the guide rack 172. The suspension unit 18 may include the shaft 181 and the pinion 182 as described above. Here, the guide rack 172 and the pinion 182 correspond to one embodiment of the rocking prevention device, and the design can be changed to another structure that performs the rocking prevention function. For example, instead of the pinion 182, a roller around which a friction member surrounds may be applied, and instead of the guide rack 172, a friction member that generates a frictional force in contact with the roller may be applied. In other words, it is noted that any structure is possible in which the rolling member can move in the forward and backward direction while rotating without contact with the guide member like the pinion 182 and guide rack 172 structure.

An inner rotor type motor can be applied to the driving motor 20, and the pinion 182 is connected to a motor shaft 22 connected to the rotor. It is noted that the drive motor 20 is capable of all kinds of motors capable of rotating forward and backward and varying speed.

In detail, the rotor and the stator constituting the drive motor 20 are protected by the housing 20. A fastening end 31 to which the driving motor 20 is fixed is extended to the rear end of the frame 15 and the fastening end 31 and the housing 21 of the driving motor 20 are fixed to the bracket 30 ). Accordingly, a combined body of the driving motor 20 and the suspension unit 28 is fixedly coupled to the rear end of the frame 15, and the pinion 182 is rotatably coupled to the motor shaft 22 do.

Here, various methods for fixing the driving motor 20 to the frame 15 may be proposed, and these are all included in the spirit of the present invention. The driving motor 20 may be fixed to the rear end of the moving rail 162 in addition to the frame 15. In other words, all the coupling structures in which the driving motor 20 is formed integrally with the frame 15 and move together with the storage box 132 and the freezer compartment door 131 in the forward and backward directions are included in the concept of the present invention would.

5 is a partial perspective view illustrating the structure of the other end of the suspension unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5, the driving motor 20 is provided only at one end of the suspension unit 18 in the present embodiment. However, it goes without saying that the driving force generating portion, i.e., the driving motor 20 may be provided to the pair of pinions 182, respectively.

In detail, the pinion 182 is rotatably coupled to the other end of the suspension unit 18 as well. When the drive motor 20 is not connected, the shaft 181 may be inserted into the frame 15 through the pinion 182. In other words, a bracket 30 is provided at the rear end of the frame 15, and the shaft 181 is inserted into the bracket 30 through the pinion 182. Both ends of the suspension part 18 are stably coupled to the frame 15 so that one end of the suspension part 18 is separated from the frame 15 in the process of inserting and extracting the storage box or the storage box 132 is swung in the left- Is prevented.

In this case as well, it is needless to say that the shaft 1810 may be inserted into the rear end of the movable rail 162 as described above.

Hereinafter, the automatic withdrawal and insertion process of the storage box 132 performed in the refrigerator having the storage box withdrawing device constructed as above will be described.

First, the user presses the input button 192a provided on one side of the dispenser 19 or the refrigerator 10 in order to take out the storage box 132 and store or deliver the food. When the input button 192a is pressed to input the storage box draw command, a command is transmitted to the control unit of the refrigerator 10. [ The control unit of the refrigerator 10 transmits an operation signal to a driving motor control unit for controlling the operation of the driving motor 20. [ Specifically, the operation signal includes direction information for moving the storage box and moving speed information of the storage box. That is, the direction of rotation of the driving motor is determined by the direction information, and the RPM of the driving motor is determined by the speed information.

More specifically, the driving motor is driven in accordance with the operation signal, so that the freezing chamber door 131 is drawn forward. As described above, since the storage box 132 can be automatically drawn out even if there is no user's pull-out operation, it is not necessary to attach a separate handle member to the entire surface of the freezing chamber door 131. [ That is, the freezer compartment door 131 may include an outer cover having a smooth front surface without protrusions, an inner cover coupled to a rear surface of the outer cover, and a heat insulating material interposed between the outer cover and the inner cover.

The control unit of the refrigerator 10 receives the rotational speed RPM of the driving motor 20 in real time and calculates the drawing speed m / s of the storage box 132. For example, it is possible to calculate the moving speed of the storage box 132 per unit time with the rotation speed of the drive motor 20 and the circumferential value of the pinion 182. The storage box 132 can be taken out at a set speed using the above-described information. The storage box 132 can be drawn out at a set speed regardless of the load of the food stored in the storage box 132. [

In addition, the storage box 132 can be continuously or intermittently pulled in and out according to the operation method of the input button 192a.

For example, when the input button 192a is pressed once, the storage box 132 can be pulled out to the end. Alternatively, the input button 192a may be repeatedly depressed with a predetermined time difference to allow the storage box 132 to be drawn out multiple times.

In addition, when the storage box 132 hits an obstacle in the process of being drawn out, it may be automatically stopped or retracted.

Alternatively, the storage box 132 may be stopped in a state in which the storage box 132 is drawn out at a predetermined distance, and may be controlled so as to be retracted or completely retracted according to the user's intention. In other words, when the user pulls the freezing chamber door 131 in a state where the storage box 132 is drawn out for a predetermined distance and stops, the storage box 132 is completely drawn out. When the user opens the freezing chamber door 131, It may be detected that the storage box 132 is pulled in.

In addition, if the storage box 132 is not pulled out or stopped during the withdrawal even though the storage box retrieval command is inputted through the input button 192a, it may be detected and an error warning signal may be generated.

In addition, the storage box 132 of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that it can be drawn out not only automatically but also manually. For example, when the power is not applied to the drive motor 20 due to a power failure or the user pulls the freezer compartment door 131 by hand without manipulating the input button 192a, Is smoothly drawn out without being subjected to the resistance force of the drive motor (20). In other words, even when the drive motor 20 is not operated, the drawing of the storage box by the drive motor 20 is not hindered.

In addition, when the storage box 132 is drawn out, it is automatically closed when a predetermined time elapses, so that the cooling loss can be minimized.

In addition to the structure in which the driving motor 20 is provided with a signal line for connecting the control unit of the refrigerator 10 and a power supply line for supplying current, a charging device is provided on one side of the driving motor 20, The signal line and the power line may be removed by mounting the transceiver.

6 is a block diagram showing a drawer driving system of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6, a drawer driving system 800 of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a main controller 810 that controls the overall operation of the refrigerator 10, An input unit 840 for inputting a drawer draw-in command to the main control unit 810; a display unit 820 for displaying the operating state of the refrigerator 10; A memory 850 for storing various information inputted through the motor control unit 860 and the input unit 840 and a memory 850 for storing various information inputted through the motor control unit 860 and the input unit 840, A power supply unit 880 for applying power to various electrical parts for driving the refrigerator 10, and a controller 880 for controlling the driving motor 20 in the forward / reverse rotation of the driving motor 20 And a rotation direction detecting unit 870 for outputting a low / high (LOW / HIGH) signal The. The distance sensing unit 890 includes a sensor using infrared or ultrasonic waves as described above.

In detail, the drive motor 20 has a rotor and formed of a stator, the rotor three Hall sensors in electronic (H _U, H _V, H _W), (23) a three-phase (3-Phase) provided with a BLDC ( Brushless DC) motor. The motor control unit 860 includes a driver IC (Integrated Circuit) 862 that receives a motor drive signal from the main control unit 810 and controls the operation of the drive motor 20, And an inverter 861 that applies a three-phase current to the driving motor 20 in response to a switching signal transmitted from the driver IC 862 after receiving a DC voltage.

Hereinafter, the operation of the drawer drive system will be described.

First, the power supply unit 880 rectifies and smoothes a commercial AC power source (110 V or 220 V) to convert it into a DC voltage. Accordingly, the power supply unit 880 outputs a DC voltage of a certain level (for example, a DC voltage of 220 V). The inverter 861 switches the DC voltage supplied from the power supply unit 880 to generate a sinusoidal three-phase AC voltage. The three-phase AC voltage output from the inverter 861 includes U-phase, V-phase, and W-phase voltages.

The driving motor 20 is a BLDC motor having a hall sensor 23 and is driven by the driving motor 20 to rotate the rotor, And the inverter 861 supplies a voltage to the three windings U, V and W wound on the stator with a phase difference of 120 degrees according to the switching signal. A description thereof will be omitted.

The main control unit 810 causes the motor control unit 860 to output the speed command V _SP of the driving motor 20 and the rotational direction V _SP of the driving motor 20 in accordance with a drawer drawing command inputted by the user through the input unit 840. [ (CW / CCW). Then, the speed command and the direction command are transmitted to the motor control unit 860 so that the driving motor 20 rotates.

During the rotation of the drive motor 20, the hall sensor 23 generates a detection signal, that is, a pulse corresponding to the number of poles of the permanent magnet provided on the rotor. For example, if the number of poles of the permanent magnets provided in the rotor is 8, 24 pulses are generated during one rotation of the drive motor 20. [

In detail, the pulse signal detected by the hall sensor 23 is transmitted to the driver IC 862 and the rotation direction detecting unit 870. The rotation direction detecting unit 870 detects information on the rotational direction of the driving motor 20 using the pulse signal and transmits the information to the main control unit 810.

In addition, the driver IC 862 generates an FG (Frequency Generator) pulse signal using the pulse signal. That is, in the FG generating circuit provided in the driver IC 862, an FG pulse signal corresponding to the rotation number of the driving motor 20 is generated and output (output) by using the pulse signal outputted from the hall sensor 23 . For example, if it is assumed that there are A number of FG pulse signals generated during one rotation of the driving motor 20 and B generation of FG pulse signals in the drawing process of the drawer 13, Will be B / A. Since the rotation direction of the drive motor 20 can be detected by the rotation direction detection unit 870, the FG pulse signal is accumulated as a positive value when the rotation direction of the drive motor 20 is the positive direction, And in the reverse direction, it can be integrated into a negative value. Then, the absolute position of the drive motor 20, that is, the drawer 13 can be known, and it can be easily determined whether or not the consumer has pulled or pushed the drawer 13. Here, data on the number of FG pulse signals corresponding to the movement distance of the drawer 13 is tabulated and stored in the memory 850 of the main control unit 810.

The output FG pulse signal is transmitted to the main control unit 810. The main control unit 810 calculates the rotational speed of the driving motor 20 using the FG pulse signal transmitted. The moving speed and distance of the driving motor 20, that is, the moving speed and distance of the drawer, are calculated using the rotational speed and the driving time of the driving motor 20.

7 is a waveform diagram showing the shape of a pulse signal detected by the hall sensor in accordance with normal / reverse rotation of the drive motor.

Referring to FIG. 7, when the rotor of the driving motor 20 rotates, a pulse signal is detected with a phase difference at each Hall sensor 23 as shown in the figure. That is, when the driving motor 20 rotates in the forward direction, the pulse signal is detected in the order of H _U ? H _V ? H _W , and in the case of the reverse rotation, H _U ? H _W ? H _V .

The rotation direction detecting unit 870 detects a rotational direction of the driving motor 20 by comparing and judging a part of the hall sensor detecting signals as described above with a zero level reference signal.

The rotation direction detecting unit 870 includes a first comparator 871 for comparing the first signal outputted from the hall sensor 23 with a reference signal and a second comparator 872 for comparing the second signal outputted from the hall sensor 23, A second comparator 872 for comparing the reference signal with a reference signal and an output signal of the first comparator 871 as an input signal D and interrupting an output signal of the second comparator 872, A flip flop 874 for outputting a signal corresponding to the logical sum of the output signal CK and the logical flip flop CK and a D flip flop 874 for outputting a signal which is variable according to the kick, A third comparator 873 for comparing and outputting the driving voltages Ec and Ecr of the D flip-flop 874 and an AND gate 873 for logically combining the output of the D flip- (875).

According to the rotation direction detecting unit 870 configured as described above, when the driving motor rotates in the reverse direction, the end gate 875 outputs a high signal, and when it rotates in the forward direction, a low signal is output . The high signal or the low signal is transmitted to the main controller 810 so that the main controller 810 stores information on the current rotation direction of the driving motor 20 in the memory 850. The FG pulse signal transmitted from the driver IC 862 is also stored in the memory 850.

FIG. 8 is a graph showing the moving speed of the drawer in the drawer withdrawing process of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the driving motor for pulling out the drawer according to the embodiment of the present invention moves together with the drawer 13, so that the moving speed and moving distance of the drawer mean the moving speed and distance of the driving motor .

As shown in the drawing, when the drawer draw command is input, the speed increases while performing the acceleration motion (a) until the drawer reaches the set speed V _SET . Then, when the set speed is reached, the equal speed motion (b) is performed. Then, the speed of the drawer 13 is decreased while the accelerator movement c is performed before a certain time based on the time when the drawer is completely opened. This is to prevent the drawer take-out device from being damaged together with the noise that rattles in the fully opened state of the drawer 13 by performing the uniform speed movement until the drawer 13 is completely opened. Here, the acceleration section corresponds to a substantially very short section of the entire process of drawing the drawer.

Of course, the process of closing the drawer 13 in the completely opened state also exhibits the same velocity distribution as in the process of opening.

On the other hand, the drawer 13 may exhibit a velocity distribution in which the drawing or drawing speed of the drawer 13 is not uniform according to the load of the food stored in the drawer 13. That is, when a constant voltage is applied to the driving motor 20, the drawing speed changes every time depending on the load of the drawer 13, so that the reliability of the uniformity or the speed can not be secured.

However, the present invention is characterized in that the drawer 13 is pulled out or pulled in accordance with a predetermined speed distribution without being influenced by the load of the food stored in the drawer 13.

Meanwhile, a control method for allowing the drawer of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention to be drawn or drawn at a predetermined speed regardless of the load of the stored food is as follows.

First, a draw-out instruction is input by a user pressing an input button, and the draw-out instruction is transmitted to the control unit. Then, in the main control unit, a command for the rotational speed of the motor and a command for the rotational direction are transmitted to the motor control unit, particularly, the driver IC.

The driver IC of the motor control unit transmits the switching signal corresponding to the command transmitted from the main control unit to the inverter. Then, the inverter applies a current to the three coils wound on the stator of the motor with a phase difference according to the input switching signal. Then, a magnetic field is generated in the stator side coil by the current, and the rotor rotates. Then, the hall sensor detects the intensity of the magnetic field formed on the rotor, and the switching elements sequentially turn on and off according to the detected magnetic field strength, so that the rotor continues to rotate in one direction to drive the driving motor.

On the other hand, as the driving motor is driven, information on the rotational speed and the rotational direction of the motor is transmitted to the main control unit. In detail, when the rotor of the driving motor rotates, pulse signals (H _U, H _V, H _W ) are generated from each of the three hall sensors arranged at a predetermined interval in the stator. The pulse signal is transmitted to the driver IC and the rotation direction detecting unit. The pulse signal transmitted to the driver IC is generated by the FG generation circuit and transmitted to the main control unit. The pulse transmitted to the rotation direction detecting unit is detected by the rotation direction detecting circuit and transmitted to the main control unit.

In the main control unit, the rotation speed (rpm) of the drive motor is detected from the FG pulse signal transmitted. Then, the moving speed and moving distance of the driving motor are converted from the detected rotating speed of the driving motor.

In detail, the moving speed of the driving motor (or moving speed of the drawer) can be obtained by the following formula.

(1) Traveling speed of driving motor (m / s) = rotating speed of driving motor (rpm) * Circumference of pinion (m) / 60.

(3) Rotation speed of drive motor (rpm) = number of FG pulses generated per unit time / number of FG pulses generated per rotation of drive motor.

The moving distance of the driving motor during the set time can be obtained from the moving speed of the driving motor.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing a method of controlling a drawer drive of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a flowchart showing a control method for automatically drawing or pulling a drawer according to a user's intention.

Referring to FIG. 9, the control method described below is performed in a state where the drawer draw-out command is input and the drawer 13 is drawn out by a set distance and then stopped. That is, in a state where the drawer 13 is opened a certain distance, the main control unit 181 determines the user's intention according to the action of the user so that the drawer 13 is automatically drawn out or drawn in.

In detail, when the drawer opening command is inputted by the user (S30), the drawer 13 is drawn out by the set distance and opened (S31). Here, the predetermined distance is shorter than the distance when the drawer 13 is completely drawn out.

It is also determined whether or not the stop time of the drawer 13 has reached the set time (S33). If there is no operation by the user until the stop time reaches the set time, the drive motor 20 rotates in the reverse direction to close the drawer 13 in order to prevent cold loss (S36). When the drawer is completely closed (S37), the driving motor is stopped (S40).

On the other hand, the main control unit 810 detects in real time whether an external force is applied to the drawer 13 until the stop time reaches the set time (S34).

Here, the application of the external force to the drawer 13 means that the user operates the drawer 13 to pull the drawer 13 to open further and push the drawer 13 to close it. It is sufficient that the external force acts only for a short time and then is removed. That is, the user senses an external force generated by a slight pushing or pulling operation of the drawer 13 or a slight pulling and pulling operation.

In detail, when no external force is applied to the drawer 13, the drawer 13 continues to be stopped and the stopped time is accumulated. When an external force is applied to the drawer 13, it is determined whether the external force acts in the opening direction of the drawer or in the closing direction (S35). Here, the method for determining whether or not the external force has been applied includes a change of the FG pulse signal or a change detection by the distance sensor 24 as described above.

On the other hand, when an external force is applied in the direction in which the drawer is opened, the drive motor rotates in the direction in which the drawer is opened (S38). On the other hand, when an external force is applied in the direction in which the drawer is closed, the drive motor rotates in the direction in which the drawer is closed (S36). Then, it is sensed whether the drawer is fully opened (S39) or fully closed (S37), and the drive motor is stopped (S40) or continues to rotate according to the detection result.

Here, whether or not the drawer 13 is fully opened or fully closed can be determined according to the method of analyzing the FG pulse signal or the detection result of the distance sensor 24. A method of determining whether the drawer 13 has been completely closed may use a sensing device provided in a conventional refrigerator in addition to the above method. That is, whether or not the door is completely closed may be determined depending on whether the switch provided on the rear surface of the door and the front surface of the main body are on or off.

10 is a flow chart showing a method of controlling a drawer drive of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and is a flowchart showing a control method for moving a drawer according to a user's intention using an FG pulse signal generated by a motor control unit .

Referring to FIG. 10, a drawer opening command is input by the user (S50), and the drawer is opened (S51). The FG pulse signal and the drawer moving direction information generated in the process of opening the drawer 13 are transmitted to the main control unit 810 (S52). When the drawer 13 stops at the set distance (S53), information about the FG pulse signal value at the stop point and the motor rotation direction is stored in the memory (S54).

When the drawer moves due to the external force (S55), the main control unit 810 calculates the variation value of the FG pulse signal due to the drawer movement (S56). Specifically, when the drawer is moved, the pinion 182 is rotated, and the motor shaft 22 connected to the pinion 182 is rotated together. A pulse signal is generated through the hall sensor 23 in accordance with the rotation of the motor shaft 22, and an FG pulse signal is generated from the pulse signal by the driver IC.

Meanwhile, as described above, the variation value of the FG pulse signal may be accumulated as a positive value if it is a positive direction and integrated as a negative value if it is a reverse direction.

Then, it is determined whether the drawer has moved in the opening direction or the closing direction according to the increase or decrease of the FG pulse signal (S57). If it is determined that the drawer has moved in the opening direction, the driving motor is rotated in the direction in which the drawer is opened. Conversely, if it is determined that the drawer has moved in the closing direction, the driving motor is rotated in the direction in which the drawer is closed (S58). Then, it is determined whether the drawer is completely opened (S61) or completely closed (S59), and the daughter drive motor is stopped (S62) or continues to rotate on the result.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a drawer drive control method of a refrigerator according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and is a flowchart showing a control method of moving a drawer according to a user's intention using a distance detection sensor.

11, a drawer opening command is input (S70), and a drawer is opened (S71) in accordance with the inputted command is the same as that of the first embodiment.

In detail, in the process of opening the drawer, the travel distance of the drawer is sensed by the distance sensor 24 (S72). Then, the drawer is stopped at the set distance (S73). Then, the drawer position information at the time when the drawer is stopped is stored in the memory (S74).

On the other hand, when the drawer moves due to the external force (S75), the distance detection sensor 24 senses the variation state. That is, the distance sensor 24 detects that the position of the drawer has changed.

In detail, the main control unit 810 compares the current position information in a state where the drawer is moved by an external force and the position information finally stored in the memory (S76). As a result of the comparative analysis, it is determined whether the drawer has moved in the opening direction or in the closing direction (S77).

More specifically, if it is determined that the drawer has moved in the opening direction, the driving motor 20 is rotated forward (S80) so that the drawer is fully opened. Conversely, if it is determined that the drawer has moved in the closing direction, the driving motor 20 is rotated in the reverse direction (S78) so that the drawer is completely closed. Then, the drive motor is stopped (S82) or continuously rotated depending on whether the drawer is completely opened (S81) or completely closed (S79).

Meanwhile, in the above embodiment, it is shown that the drawer is moved according to the intention of the user while the drawer is drawn out after a predetermined distance and then stopped, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In other words, the drawer can be equally applied even when the drawer is fully closed or stopped or fully opened. More specifically, when the user applies an external force to the drawer opening direction to open the drawer in a state that the drawer is completely closed, the control unit may sense the external force so as to automatically open the drawer. On the other hand, when the drawer is completely opened, when the user applies an external force in the direction of closing the drawer to close the drawer, the control unit may sense this and control the drawer to be closed automatically.

More specifically, the FG pulse signal value becomes 0 when the drawer is completely closed, and the rotational direction of the driving motor is sensed from the pulse value of the hall sensor, which is generated when the drawer is opened. Then, the control unit detects the moving direction of the drawer.

Further, the FG pulse signal value is accumulated as a positive value in the state that the drawer is completely opened, and is stored in the memory, and the rotation direction of the driving motor is detected from the pulse value of the hall sensor generated when the drawer is started to be closed. The control unit senses the moving direction of the drawer, and the FG pulse signal value is accumulated in a negative value as the drawer moves.

As another possible embodiment, the user may also use the input button to enter a fully open or close command of the drawer. That is, when the drawer is opened as much as the set distance and the closing command is input by using the input button after the storage of the object is completed, the driving motor 20 is rotated in the reverse direction to close the drawer. Alternatively, if it is determined that the user needs to fully open the drawer for storing an object, the user can input a full opening command of the drawer using the input button. Then, the driving motor 20 is rotated forward to allow the drawer to be completely opened.

According to the drawer drive system and the control method of the refrigerator having the above structure, the drawer can be automatically opened and closed according to the user's intention while the drawer is opened at a certain distance.

Claims (21)

Analyzing the FG pulse signal of the driving motor generated according to the movement of the drawer; Detecting an external force acting on the drawer in the stopped state; Calculating a moving speed and a moving distance of the drawer; Transmitting a detection signal of the external force to a control unit; Determining a direction of action of the external force in the controller; And moving the drawer in the direction of action of the external force. The method according to claim 1, In the stop state, A state in which the drawer is completely closed and then stopped, A state in which the drawer is stopped after being opened by a set distance, and And a state in which the drawer is completely opened and then stopped. The method according to claim 1, Wherein an external force acting on the drawer is sensed by a pulse signal outputted from a hall sensor of the driving motor when the drawer is moved. The method of claim 3, Wherein the direction of action of the external force applied to the drawer is determined through detection of the rotational direction of the driving motor using the pulse signal. delete The method according to claim 1, Wherein the operation direction of the external force applied to the drawer and the absolute position of the drawer are determined through calculation of the variation value of the FG pulse signal. The method according to claim 1, When the drawer moves in the forward direction, the FG pulse signal is accumulated as a positive value, And when the drawer moves in the opposite direction, the FG pulse signal is accumulated as a negative value. The method according to claim 1, An external force acting on the drawer is sensed by the operation of the distance sensor and a direction of action of the external force applied to the drawer is determined from a sensing value transmitted from the distance sensor. . delete The method according to claim 1, And the drawer is automatically closed if there is no external force within a set time after the drawer is stopped. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the drawer is opened by an open command input via an input button or is directly opened by a user. Drawer; A drive motor rotating so that the drawer is drawn by a set distance; A control unit for controlling the operation of the driving motor and controlling the operation of the driving motor such that the drawer moves in an acting direction of an external force applied to the drawer in a state where the drawer is stopped; And a rotation direction detection unit configured to detect a rotation direction of the drive motor and to transmit the rotation direction to the control unit. 13. The method of claim 12, Wherein the driving motor is a BLDC motor having a hall sensor. 13. The method of claim 12, And the driving motor moves integrally with the drawer. 13. The method of claim 12, And a warning unit connected to the control unit and configured to inform the outside of the operation error of the driving motor. 13. The method of claim 12, In the control unit, A main control unit, And a motor control unit for receiving an operation command of the drive motor from the main control unit and driving the drive motor, The motor controller includes a driver IC configured to generate a switching signal according to driving conditions of the driving motor, and an inverter configured to apply a current to the rotor of the driving motor in accordance with a switching signal transmitted from the driver IC The drawer driving system of the refrigerator. delete 17. The method of claim 16, Wherein the driver IC is configured to generate and transmit an FG pulse signal to the main control unit. 19. The method of claim 18, Wherein the controller is configured to accumulate the FG pulse signal transmitted from the driver IC to a positive or negative value. 13. The method of claim 12, And a distance sensing unit provided at either one of the driving motor, the drawer and the inner case for receiving the drawer, for sensing the moving distance of the drawer. 21. The method of claim 20, Wherein the distance sensing unit includes an infrared sensor or an ultrasonic sensor.

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